The Weekly Standard reserves the right to use your email for internal use only. Occasionally,
we may send you special offers or communications from carefully selected advertisers we believe may be of benefit to our subscribers.
Click the box to be included in these third party offers. We respect your privacy and will never rent or sell your email.

Of course it is. Think about it. Does Charlie Rangel need this? Does he need to be a member of Congress? I’m sure he could’ve made a lot more money on the outside working as a Tone Loc impersonator at bar mitzvahs, or using his distinctive vocals to do cartoon voiceover work as Spongeob SquarePants friend, Emphysematous, the Smoker’s-Coughing Sea Urchin. Instead, Rangel has given nearly 40 years of selfless service to the good people of Harlem. And that was after he won the Purple Heart and Bronze Star in Korea, while the current president was dodging the draft by joining the National Guard and smoking dope at Oxford {note to Daily Caller fact checker, Nexis this — I sometimes get my presidents and Asian wars confused}.

Now, as Rangel faces 13 counts of violating House ethics rules and federal laws, our president decides to pile on, saying it’s time for the 80-year-old Rangel to “end his career with dignity,” something Obama might want to start working toward himself with only two more years until 2012. I’m sure a part of Rangel would like to step down and avoid the unpleasantness so he can spend more time cheating on his taxes with his family. But he’s fighting it. Because that’s what fighters like him do. They fight for you, if by “you,” you mean “themselves.” And also, because who wouldn’t want to rent four expensive Manhattan apartments in a building owned by your campaign contributor for about half of what they’d go for on the open market? Even by sweetheart deal standards, that’s a pretty sweet deal. Rangel clearly believes in paying as little as possible to derive maximum benefit. While as president, Obama clearly believes in spending as much money as possible to derive next to no benefit. So it’s pretty clear what’s motivating Obama to call for Rangel’s resignation: jealousy. Maybe Obama shouldn’t be asking for Rangel to step down. Maybe he should be asking him for pointers.